May-June 2009 Pasayten Rim Wilderness Evaluation

WILDERNESS EVALUATION PASAYTEN RIM - 608025 41,349 acres

OVERVIEW

History The area was originally inventoried as two separate roadless areas totaling approximately 15,400 acres during RARE I. The areas were (12,000 acres) and Last Chance (3,400 acres). The RARE II process combined the two areas and did not recommend the area for wilderness designation. Due to nonconforming uses such as road construction and logging, 160 acres were removed from previous inventory; 10,839 acres were added to the previous inventory as they met the criteria for a potential wilderness area (PWA) as described in Forest Service Handbook (FSH) 1909.12, Chapter 70. The following chart depicts the 1989 Okanogan Forest Land and Resource Management Plan direction for the 2006 potential wilderness area.

Table 1--Management area percentages (rounded) MA32 MA37 MA45 MA46 Recreation/ Mtn. Mineral Timber/ Scenery Goat Exploration Range Habitat

45% 11% 32% 13%

Location and Access The area is located northwest of Winthrop in the northern portion of the Okanogan- Wenatchee National Forest, and consists of a long, narrow band of land along the south edge of the . All lands are located in Okanogan County. From Winthrop, access is provided over State Highway 20, and county and national forest roads in the Chewuch River, Eightmile Creek, Lost River, and Harts Pass areas.

Geography and Topography The western portion of the area consists of a long, half mile-wide band of southwest facing slope between the Harts Pass road and the Pasayten Wilderness. The remaining portion of the area consists of a narrow band of steep, glaciated slopes with elevations generally above 5,000 feet. Elevations range from 2,500 feet on the steeply sloped Lost River Gorge to over 8,400 feet on .

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Current Uses A small portion of the Cub and Goat Cattle Allotments are within this area. Most of the recreation use occurs on a few trails which access the Pasayten Wilderness. Hiking and horseback riding use is considered moderate on these trails. Mountain bike riding on the first three miles of the Monument Creek Trail is low to moderate use. Off-trail use is low and consists mainly of hunting during the fall, and hiking and backpacking in the No Dice Lake area. Winter use is low to moderate and includes backcountry skiing on Last Chance Point, and snowmobiling and backcountry skiing around Setting Sun, McLeod Mountain, and Sunrise Peak. The Panther Creek Basin area is permitted for heli-skiing outfitter guide use. Numerous prospects and mines are present in the area, and exploration and/or development work has occurred sporadically since 1910. There are two active mineral claims.

Appearance and Surroundings This area is characterized by spectacular scenery and steep rugged slopes. Lower elevations are forested with open subalpine meadows along high ridges. A portion of the area adjacent to the Harts Pass Road burned in 2003. The entire northern boundary of the area is adjacent to the Pasayten Wilderness.

Key Attractions The area at Harts Pass, Monument Creek Trail, Robinson Creek Trail, and Copper Glance Lake are key attractions in the area.

CAPABILITY FOR WILDERNESS

Level of Natural and Undeveloped Environment The major human impacts to the natural integrity and appearance of the area are localized at specific locations. There are helispots in open areas near the ridgeline, and mining activity from Copper Glance Lake to Billy Goat Pass. Roads and timber harvest units are visible to the south, but the adjacent Pasayten Wilderness provides views of unmodified forests. The Harts Pass Road is visible from the portion of the area between the road and the ridge to the northeast. Water quality data is not available for the PWA; however, due to the relatively low level disturbance water quality is assumed to be high. There may be localized disturbances due to grazing activities. Oxeye daisy and whitetop, both noxious weeds, are known to exist at two locations within the Pasayten Rim PWA. Eastern brook trout are present in Falls Creek and Eightmile Creek. The Pasayten Rim PWA is minimally impaired by light pollution from the Methow Valley area. The entire PWA rates as Class 2 on the Bortle Scale. A Class 2 Typical Truly Dark Sky represents the darkest skies viewed in the continental United States. The summer Milky Way is highly structured to the unaided eye. Any clouds in the sky are visible only

DRAFT Colville, Okanogan-Wenatchee Plan Revision Product Page 2 of 12 May-June 2009 Pasayten Rim Wilderness Evaluation as dark holes or voids in the starry background. No light domes from population centers are visible.

Outstanding Opportunities for Solitude or Primitive and Unconfined Recreation A sense of remoteness is low because roads and timber harvest activities to the south are visible from the area. The opportunity for challenge is high because of the steep, rugged topography and some limited opportunities for cross-country travel. Generally the rugged slopes limit access through the area to a few trails which access the Pasayten Wilderness. Use levels are moderate, thus a moderate degree of solitude is available. The area supports primitive recreation use primarily by hikers and stock users.

Special Features The area is within the Grizzly Bear recovery zone and core recovery area for the Canada lynx, and provides source habitat for the wolverine. These species have very limited distribution within the region. The Cultural Resource Overview of the Twisp-Winthrop-Conconully Planning Unit (Bennett, 1979) identified evidence of a narrow gauge road and a cabin in the area.

Manageability of Boundaries The existing wilderness boundary is located on a definable ridgetop. When the wilderness was designated, it was located on the definable boundary which left the remaining rind now called the Pasayten Rim PWA. Adding this PWA to the wilderness would bump the boundary to less definable features. Adjacent open roads could influence nonconforming uses into the wilderness.

AVAILABILITY FOR WILDERNESS

Recreation Most of the area provides semi-primitive non-motorized recreation opportunities except for the portion adjacent to the Harts Pass Road. The primary recreation feature in the area is the spectacular scenery and steep rugged slopes. The rugged slopes limit access to a few trails which access the Pasayten Wilderness. Most of the recreation use occurs on these trails and is considered moderate to high. Off-trail use is low and consists mainly of fishing at Copper Glance Lake and No Dice Lake and hunting during the fall. Copper Glance Trail (3 miles) is not maintained for motorized use, but is not closed to motorbikes or mountain bikes. Due to the steep grades and unmaintained condition of this trail, there is little motorized or mechanized use. There is mountain bike use on Monument Creek Trail. Currently, there are occasional mountain bike intrusions into wilderness on this trail and wilderness designation of the PWA may help reduce these intrusions. Overall, as use in the PWA is primarily hiking, recreation use would be similar under wilderness designation.

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Table 3--Miles of recreation trails Motorized Trails Non-motorized Trails Snowmobile Trails 0 19 0

Wildlife The area provides suitable habitat for the gray wolf (federally listed as endangered), the grizzly bear, lynx, and northern spotted owl (federally listed as threatened), and the wolverine (listed by the Forest Service as sensitive). There are known occurrences of lynx, wolverine, and northern spotted owl in the area. Gray wolf and grizzly bear are suspected to occur. The Pasayten Rim area is adjacent to the Pasayten Wilderness and thus is important for wide-ranging species that require large areas with minimal human disturbances, such as grizzly bear, gray wolf, and wolverine. Mountain goats inhabit portions of the area. Steep, rocky outcrops and cliffs provide necessary security cover for them. Mixed conifer old growth in the area provides productive habitat for several species of wildlife. Snag habitat for cavity dwellers is abundant due to recent insect and disease outbreaks. Each PWA provides varying levels of habitat for focal wildlife species. To help evaluate the habitat that these areas provide, the following information given for each PWA: the focal species emphasized in the area, the amount of habitat for each focal species, the priority ranking for the habitat (based on conservation assessments and recovery plans), and the proportion of the total habitat available on the forest that is within this particular PWA.

Table 4--Availability of habitat for federally listed threatened and endangered wildlife species, and R6 focal species Wildlife Acres of Habitat Priority Percent of Total Forest Species Habitat Ranking (1=high, Habitat in Evaluation Area 2=mod., 3=low) Grizzly bear 32,300 1 1 Canada lynx 3,940 1 <1 Wolverine 30,732 1 <1 American 260 3 <1 marten

Water and Fish The Pasayten Rim PWA is located within subbasin (4th HUC), and contains the Chewuch and Methow River watersheds (5th HUC). Both are designated as Key Watersheds under the Northwest Forest Plan and PACFISH land management areas. The Pasayten PWA contains portions of nine subwatersheds (6th HUC): lower Lost River, West Fork Methow, Robinson Creek, Rattlesnake Creek, Lake Creek, mainstem lower Chewuch, Falls Creek, Eightmile Creek, and Goat Creek. Most of the acreage in this PWA occurs in

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Lake, Falls, Eightmile and Goat Creeks, which all have nearly a quarter of the their respective area located within the PWA. When compared against unmodified subwatersheds in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (which are considered as good), forest vegetation conditions in West Fork Methow and Lake Creek subwatersheds are similar to expected conditions found in unmodified stands. Road disturbance when compared against most subwatersheds on the Okanogan- Wenatchee National Forest is minimal. Ecological processes in these subwatersheds are considered to be mostly intact. Lower Lost River, Robinson Creek, Rattlesnake, mainstem lower Chewuch, Falls Creek, and Goat Creek subwatersheds have some changes in expected vegetation conditions and some road effects. When vegetation conditions and road-related effects are considered cumulatively, these subwatersheds were rated fair. Based on changes in expected vegetation conditions and road-related effects, only Eightmile Creek was considered poor. Federally threatened bull trout and summer steelhead and endangered spring Chinook spawn and rear within the Chewuch and upper Methow River basins. Other fish species in the area include westslope cutthroat trout. Brook trout are present in Eightmile Creek and Falls Creek. Water quality and fish habitat is generally in fair to excellent condition throughout the major streams and rivers in the Chewuch and upper Methow River watersheds. Irrigation withdrawals in the Chewuch River reduce summer flows to levels that decrease spring Chinook spawning and summer steelhead rearing success. The potential wilderness area around Eightmile Creek provides a critical source of high quality water for summer steelhead and spring Chinook in the Chewuch River Basin during low flow periods, and with the present water withdrawals, is important to protect. Water use in the Pasayten Rim PWA and downstream, including Eightmile Creek, includes domestic, recreation, livestock, and irrigation. There are no existing power withdrawals, proposed impoundments, or known federal energy regulatory commission permits or licenses within the area. From an aquatic viewpoint, the Pasayten PWA contains mostly functioning ecological processes. Even where some subwatersheds are slightly altered, the PWA still provides high quality water that is essential to the recovery of listed fish species located within the subbasin. Wilderness designation would protect these ecological functions, however, that objective could be accomplished without wilderness designation so long as the Pasayten PWA remained unroaded.

Range A small portion of the Cub and Goat Cattle allotments are within this area. Management is under a deferred rotation system. Cub allotment is stocked from 6/1 to 10/15 with 584 head for 3,469 animal unit months (AUM) and Goat allotment is stocked from 6/1 to 9/30 with 170 head for 898 AUMs.

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Table 5--Percentage of grazing suitability areas and current allotments Percent Area Percent Area Percent Area Percent Area Suitable for Cattle Currently in Cattle Suitable for Sheep Currently in Sheep Grazing Allotments Grazing Allotments 14 55 45 0

Vegetation and Ecology Most of the area lies in the subalpine and alpine zones. Treeless areas occur where soil is shallow. The highest rocky peaks are practically void of vegetation. Principal tree species are Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine at lower elevations and Engelmann spruce in draws. Some subalpine fir and whitebark pine are also present. Western red cedar and western white pine are found in the Lost River area. Options to utilize mechanical treatments to manage vegetation would be precluded if the area is designated wilderness. Generally, the priority for restoration lies within the wildland urban interface (WUI), or within the dry and mesic forest groups. WUI represents over 10,000 acres of the potential wilderness area. The concern is decreased, however, by recognizing that dry forest occupies only about 4,000 acres of the WUI. The Healthy Forest Restoration Act authorizes direction to implement fuel reduction projects in the WUI. The HFRA prohibits authorized projects in wilderness areas.

Timber Harvest Suitability The underlying criteria for determining timber harvest suitability are found in the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, 36CFR219.12, and Forest Service Handbook 1909.12, Chapter 60. For the Colville and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests, the general criteria for timber suitability that will be used for timber harvest suitability are: Is it forest land (10 percent crown cover minimum, productivity >20 ft3/ac/yr). The area has not been withdrawn from timber harvest or production. Soil, slope, or other watershed conditions will not be irreversibly damaged (based on soil attributes for erosion, instability, or compaction potential, slopes >65 percent, and certain land types) Reforestation can be assured within five years (lack of shallow soils, low frost heave potential, low surface rock, plant community type, certain land types, and elevation <5,500 feet) Economic and technologic viability (< 0.5 miles from existing transportation system, species value or condition, volume availability, logging systems)

In consideration of all the criteria for determining timber harvest or timber production suitability and not just the fact that harvestable species can grow at a specific location, it appears this PWA does not have conditions that pass all the criteria. The main criterion for failure is that unacceptable resource impacts would likely occur due to road construction activities. This does not preclude helicopter operations that could fly material over sensitive areas to adjacent road systems. However, in most if not all cases helicopter

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Table 6--Stand data percentages Suitable for Forest Groups WUI Timber Harvest Parkland 26% Total WUI 43% 0% Cold Dry 34% WUI in Dry and 36% Mesic Forest Cold Moist 15% Mesic 0% Dry 22% Non-forest 3%

Fire This narrow band of land borders the southern edge of the Pasayten Wilderness and is composed of south facing sparsely vegetated open rocky ridges with a few prominent mountain peaks. The role of fire within this area is slight and fire suppression action requires the use of aerially delivered fire fighters, such as smokejumpers. Most wildfires that occur have a positive effect on most of the resident game and non- game wildlife species found within the area by creating new browse and by reducing the flammable concentrations of natural fuels that tend to accumulate when all wildfires are extinguished. The area’s mountain goat population depends on fire to create favorable browse conditions on established summer and winter range areas.

Insects and Disease The Wilderness Act of 1964 allows for the control of insects and disease, but taking such actions in wilderness is rare. Forest Service wilderness policy (Forest Service Manual 2324.11) directs the agency “to allow indigenous insect and plant diseases to play, as nearly as possible their natural ecological role”. Policy also directs the agency to “protect the scientific value of observing the effect of insects and disease on ecosystems and identifying genetically resistant plant species”, and finally, “to control insect and plant disease epidemics that threaten adjacent lands or resources.” A portion of this PWA is comprised of a parkland forest group and is known to support stands of whitebark pine. Due to a combination of anthropogenic causes (introduced white pine blister rust, global warming, and fire suppression leading to high severity wildfires) coupled with predation from native mountain pine beetles, whitebark pine stands are at risk across their range. These whitebark pine stands are of inherent value as a plant community for providing important habitat for wildlife including the federally listed grizzly bear, and for their aesthetics in contributing to the social setting. Wilderness designation would limit restoration options for these stands. Manipulations would only be considered in order to protect the composite wilderness resource, and only as a last resort to preserve naturalness at the expense of trammeling. Aerial insect and disease surveys were completed in 2007 in the vicinity of the PWA. The most extensive insect activity detected mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine.

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Many pockets of spruce beetle activity were detected throughout the analysis area. About 5,000 acres were mapped in the Eightmile Analysis Area, and an estimated 63,500 Engelmann spruce trees killed. This is somewhat less than the 97,000 trees reported killed in 2006. Additional populations are established between Mazama and Harts Pass. One pocket of western spruce budworm defoliation was detected in Lost River Gorge south of Sunshine Creek. About 80 acres were affected. This is the second year that western spruce budworm was detected in the area.

Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Plants Nine rare species are known to occur in this area. These nine species are: tall false dandelion (Agoseris elata), yellow bog sedge (Carex dioica), poor sedge (Carex magellanica), Scandinavian sedge (Carex norvegica syn Carex media), sticky Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium viscosum), snow cinquefoil (Potentilla nivea), Tweedy’s willow (Salix tweedyi), western lady tresses (Spiranthes porrifolia), and lesser bladderwort (Utricularia minor).

Noxious Weeds Two noxious weed sites exist within the Pasayten Rim proposed wilderness area. One site is located near a corral and trailhead area in T. 38, R. 20, S. 23. This site consists of oxeye daisy, with the plants prevalent around the corral area and the beaver pond near the corral. The plants extend up the road to the road’s end and are found adjacent to an old mining cabin near the end of the road. This site has a high spread potential resultant from livestock and human use around the corral facility carrying plant material or seeds up a trail and into uncolonized areas. Approximately two acres of the Pasayten Rim PWA are infested by this site. The other site contains white top and is located in T. 38, R. 20, S. 15. This site is small and is located along the Billy Goat Trail, but has high potential to spread. This infestation occurs on approximately one quarter acre of the PWA.

Minerals and Soils Much of the western portion of the area has been extensively glaciated. Soils are derived from granitic glacial till overlain with volcanic ash or pumice of varying thickness. Deposits of glacial outwash occur on valley floors. Organic material is common on the soil surface and is incorporated in deeper soils, commonly in the upper 20 inches. Soils in the eastern portion of the area are derived from glacial till overlain with volcanic ash of varying thickness. Areas of glacial outwash occur. Soils are well to very well-drained throughout the area except near streams with high water tables. Ash soils become very dusty when dry. Trails may become very dusty when dry under moderate to heavy use. Soils without the ash layer tend to be stable during dry periods. Soils naturally covered with litter have low erosion hazards and are considered generally stable for management activities. Moderate to severe rilling and gullying occurs when water is concentrated on soils not covered with litter. Mass erosion hazard is moderate to very high on over-steepened slopes and low throughout the remaining area. The Pasayten Rim PWA straddles the Pasayten fault which separates sedimentary and volcanic rocks associated with the Methow graben on the west from igneous and

DRAFT Colville, Okanogan-Wenatchee Plan Revision Product Page 8 of 12 May-June 2009 Pasayten Rim Wilderness Evaluation metamorphic rocks on the east. Numerous prospects and mines are present in the area and exploration and/or development work has occurred sporadically since 1910. This area includes approximately 3,200 acres of lands with high and 2,300 acres of lands with moderate to high mineral potential in the upper Eightmile Creek drainage. A small amount of gold, silver, and copper was produced from at least two of the mines in this area between 1914 and 1935 (Huntting, 1956; Staatz and others, 1971). Exploration targets in the area include gold-silver-copper veins, disseminated copper, and possible volcanogenic massive sulfide base and precious metal deposits (Grant, 1982; Staatz and others, 1971). Core drilling was performed in the area as late as 1979. There is also a low to moderate potential for the occurrence of uranium in the eastern part of the area. At present, there are two active lode mining claims in the headwaters of Eightmile Creek in T. 38 N., R. 20 E. at the junctions of Sections 14, 15, 22, and 23. In 1984, four oil and gas leases were issued in T. 37 N., R. 20 E. that encumbered lands in the southern part of the PWA as well as lands to the south. All four leases were terminated by 1986. The area has no to a moderate potential for the occurrence of coal and oil and gas resources and a low to moderate potential for geothermal resources. Lands within the PWA are not the subject of any current expressions of interest, lease applications, or leases for coal, oil and gas, or geothermal resources.

Cultural and Heritage Resources The Cultural Resource Overview of the Twisp-Winthrop-Conconully Planning Unit (Bennett, 1979) identified evidence of a narrow gauge road and a cabin in the area.

Land Uses and Special Uses A road that runs from the Eightmile Creek road to a mining claim in T. 38 N., R. 20 E., Section 35 is authorized under a “Class E” permit. Grazing allotments are authorized through a term grazing permit, as well as a heli-skiing operation in Panther Creek Basin.

Private Lands There is no private land within the area and no known outstanding subsurface rights.

NEED FOR WILDERNESS

Location and size of other wildernesses in the general vicinity, and distance from population centers: The area adjoins the 529,477-acre Pasayten Wilderness and is approximately 20 air miles north of the 151,435 acre Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness and approximately 25 air miles north of the 570, 573-acre Glacier Peak Wilderness on the Wenatchee National Forest. The PWA is a three-hour drive from Wenatchee, four hours from Spokane and a four to six-hour drive from the greater Puget Sound area. A separate analysis identified where the PWAs could contribute to the wilderness recreation setting either by preserving the primitive recreation setting adjacent to existing wilderness, or by contributing assessable and attractive day use destinations (which are

DRAFT Colville, Okanogan-Wenatchee Plan Revision Product Page 9 of 12 May-June 2009 Pasayten Rim Wilderness Evaluation under heavy pressure in existing wilderness). The analysis also examined which PWAs would contribute either a unique landform to the wilderness system, or where trails access vegetation types that are underrepresented in wilderness at a regional scale. In ranking this PWA for its potential to provide a high quality wilderness recreation setting it ranked as high. The area has many attractions. The PWA has many system trails that enter the Pasayten Wilderness where the primitive recreation setting would be preserved. The PWA also has extensive areas of vegetation cover types that are underrepresented in designated wilderness at a regional scale.

Present visitor pressure on other wildernesses, trends, and changing patterns of use: Overall, there is a continuous, slight increase in the number of people visiting wilderness areas. The user groups showing the most increase are day-hikers and visitors to some off- trail destinations throughout the wildernesses, and horse users in the Lake Chelan- Sawtooth Wilderness. There is also a trend to shorter multiple-day trips. In the past, overnight trips of eight to ten days were the most common, while the trips are now typically five to six consecutive nights.

Extent to which non-wilderness lands provide opportunities for unconfined outdoor recreation experiences: There are approximately 900,000 acres of National Forest System land outside of wilderness on the Methow Valley Ranger District. In the summer non-wilderness portions of the district draw hikers, stock users, mountain bikers and more limited motorcycle use. Certain portions also offer regionally significant rock climbing and mountaineering. In the winter the area features outstanding cross-country, backcountry skiing, and snowmobiling.

The need to provide a sanctuary for those biotic species that have demonstrated an inability to survive in less than primitive surroundings or the need for a protected area for other unique scientific value or phenomena:

Wildlife The area provides large area of high priority habitat for grizzly bear and wolverine, and smaller amounts of habitat for Canada lynx and American marten. These species require large areas of remote, undeveloped habitat for survival. For American marten (Martes americana), grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), wolverine (Gulo gulo), and Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) the wildlife sustainability index is 67 (a high relative ranking) and the habitat connectivity index is 34.5 (also high relative ranking). These habitats can be provided by wilderness or by managing for unroaded conditions.

Fish Several native species in the interior Columbia River Basin have demonstrated an inability to survive in less than primitive surroundings, especially the bull trout. In addition to habitat changes on National Forest System lands, other factors off forest such as

DRAFT Colville, Okanogan-Wenatchee Plan Revision Product Page 10 of 12 May-June 2009 Pasayten Rim Wilderness Evaluation hydropower generation, hatchery programs, harvest, and changing ocean conditions further challenge the persistence of some far-ranging native species. Broad-scale assessments have demonstrated a positive correlation between unroaded areas and persisting native fish stocks. Often, assessments like these don’t differentiate between wilderness and roadless areas; rather they combine the two into an “unroaded” category. These assessments show current strongholds (most secure and robust populations) are dependant on wilderness and roadless areas. Some of the more resilient native fish populations in the Interior Columbia Basin are located in unroaded areas on National Forest System lands. For the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest PWAs were assigned an aquatic ranking based on federally listed and sensitive fish species that are sensitive to human disturbances. A high ranking was assigned when listed fish species occur in the PWA or when ecological process including high quality water help sustain listed fish species downstream of the PWA. All other PWAs are ranked low. This PWA is assigned a high ranking based on these factors.

Rare Plant Species An analysis was completed to prioritize which PWAs would contribute the most to providing refugia for those plant species on the species of interest/species of concern (SOI/SOC) list. The analysis ranked three factors. The first factor, the total number of sites occurring within the PWA, ranked as moderate for this PWA. The second factor, which ranked as high for this PWA, examined the degree of rarity of any SOI/SOC species present, and also recognized the importance of individual PWAs in supporting a high incidence of populations relative to state as a whole. PWAs are generally unsurveyed for rare plants due to a relative lack of projects occurring in these areas. Thus an additional factor examined the potential for the PWA to support SOI/SOC species. Based on databases, first the SOI/SOC plant species were identified that are present within a five-mile radius of the PWA, but are not known to occur within the PWA. Then the PWA was analyzed to see if the potential habitat for these species occurs within the PWA. Based on this analysis, this PWA ranks as moderate. Finally, a composite score was assigned to each PWA based on combining each of the rankings described above. This PWA ranks overall as high priority for preserving rare plant refugia with a wilderness designation.

Ability to provide for preservation of identifiable landforms types and ecosystems: Using Bailey’s Ecoregion Classification system, the Pasayten Rim PWA is in the East Cascades Ecoregion. Wilderness lands are well-represented in the East Cascades Ecoregion. An analysis compared vegetative cover types that are under-represented in wilderness on the National Forest System in Region 6 with those same cover types present in the PWA. Large-scale cover types were available through existing data layers and represent approximately 20 percent of the vegetative cover of this PWA (8,430 acres). These types include forb lands, non-alpine meadows, alpine meadows, western red cedar, and ponderosa pine. Taken as a whole, the contribution of underrepresented vegetation types

DRAFT Colville, Okanogan-Wenatchee Plan Revision Product Page 11 of 12 May-June 2009 Pasayten Rim Wilderness Evaluation ranks as high for the portion of this area with underrepresented cover types, and also as high for the number of acres that are represented within this PWA relative to the other PWAs in the planning area. In particular, forb lands, non-alpine meadows, alpine meadows, and ponderosa pine, would make a significant contribution within the eastern Washington planning area. Some under-represented cover types (quaking aspen and cottonwood) fill microhabitats such as riparian areas or perched water tables. Such finer scale cover types are not represented in this PWA.

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